Rick Brandon trumpet and vocals
Rick “Raucous Rico” Brandon is The New Hip Replacements’s lead vocalist and trumpet player, so when he’s not fronting the band with creative, crisp, and stylized vocals, he’s blending sweet, funky harmonies with NHR’s sax and trombone for a wall of sound horn section. Rico’s fun-loving and charismatic stage presence builds quick audience rapport. He brings a long history of R&B/soul band work that includes guesting with the chart-topping Delfonics (“La, La Means I Love You”) and fronting a 10-piece show band that opened for headliners such as Eric Carmen and (ready?…) Cheech and Chong. You’ll dig his contagious energy.
Nick Cardello, drums
Nick “Nick of Time” Cordellos is aptly nicknamed since this Sonoma native (and unofficial mayor of the Sonoma Speakeasy) came along just in time when the band was looking for a first-rate skins player. And man, were we lucky: Nick has a heartfelt love of music and people, and an amazing track record of awards and recognition. He received the Future of Jazz Award at age 14, and some years later, the Memphis Blues Contest’s Grand Prize. After a stint gigging five nights a week in Detroit, he returned to the Bay Area and has played with such legends as Bonnie Raitt and Robert Cray.
Ron Wynn, lead guitar
Ron “Riffer” Wynn plays guitar like the once-upon-a-time corporate litigator used to argue in court: with gusto, grit, conviction—and a story to tell. A co-founder of the New Hip Replacements and veteran of multiple North Bay blues and rock bands, Riffer Ron’s guitar adds fiery leads, monster rhythms, and funkified fills to NHR’s party-down mix of shake-your-booty blues, flirtatious funk, sing-along soul, and groove-a-licious R&B.
Dan Magay, saxophone
Steeped in modern and traditional jazz, classical music, Indian ragas, Brazilian bossa nova and choro, rock, funk, African, experimental and various fusions, Dan Magay is a fresh voice in saxophone, flute and clarinet. Born in Los Altos, California, Dan grew up surrounded by music. He graduated magna cum laude from Berklee College of Music and returned to the Bay Area in 2005 where he’s been performing with a wide array of groups spanning vast ranges of styles and sounds, including the Fil Lorenz Jazz Orchestra, the Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, Funky Buela, The Avatar Ensemble, the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, the Ernie Smalls Jazz Orchestra, Chester Smith, Donald Bailey, as well as groups of his own such as the Wind Up Trio. He also teaches extensively.
Steve Thompson, trombone and vocals
Steve “Boneman” Thompson is a lifelong singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (vocalist, jazz trombonist, guitarist & blues harp player). Steve is perhaps best known as the frontman for the 1980s mod-punk revival band, The Jetz, and remains active as a musician and recording artist in a variety of contexts. Steve has toured in bands and performed at many live music clubs, jazz festivals and universities throughout North America and Europe. He lives in the Bay area with his wife and family and is a proud member of The New Hip Replacements.
Bruce Zweig, keyboard
TEXT ABOUT BRUCE GOES HERE
Joni Maxx, vocals
Joni “MAXX” Shaff has distinguished herself as one of the Bay Area’s most in-demand jazz and R & B vocalists for the past 20 years, performing in top-tier venues such as The Plush Room, The Fillmore, The Great American Music Hall, among others. Along the way she’s performed alongside such greats as Bobby McFerrin, Mary Wilson and Maria Muldaur and was a long-time featured vocalist with Dick Bright’s SRO, one of the Bay Area’s top party bands. MAXX is incredibly versatile, belting out jazz standards, funky grooves and sassy dance tune. Fun and improvisational, she brings out the party spirit to the MAXX.
Ed Zingaro, bass guitar
A trained plastic surgeon (Diplomat of the American Board of Plastic Surgery) Ed “Dr. Z” Zingaro moved to San Francisco in 1984 after completing 5 years of general surgery residency. He began studying piano with a private teacher when 8 years old, learned drums, and sang in many garage bands (his crew won a battle of the bands his senior year at Oyster Bay High School!) After moving to San Francisco, he was a founding member of “The Ravens,” a Bay Area rock and R&B staple for 14 years. He’s been the keeper of the low frequencies of the New Hip Replacements since 2021.
Josh Quittner, rhythm guitar
A life-long journalist at TIME Magazine, Fortune, Business 2.0, Newsday, the Albuquerque Journal and others, Josh Quittner co-founded Decrypt Media Inc., where he is currently editing and generally making a nuisance of himself. He’s played guitar since he was 13 and has made little progress. He plays rhythm guitar in the New Hip Replacements, was a co-founder of the band and possibly was the person who came up with its name.
thenewhipreplacements.com 